How much Saturday snow? Predictions roll in

A winter storm expected to hit the region Saturday night and Sunday morning could bring a foot of snow to the Worcester area, but forecasters say it is too early to make precise predictions.

The National Weather Service in Taunton said a potential for 12 inches of heavy, wet snow exists in Worcester, but the location of the rain-snow line remains unclear. Current predictions are for the greatest snow totals to be north of the Massachusetts Turnpike and away from the coast, according to the weather service.

The storm is not expected to have snow totals close to those of the recent blizzard, which dumped more than 30 inches of snow in many Central Massachusetts communities. Still, a foot of snow will be significant and could challenge drivers early Sunday.

“We're still fine-tuning, but there will be a significant storm Saturday night into Sunday, and the snow should be out of here by Sunday afternoon,” said Charles Foley of the National Weather Service.

Wet weather is also being seen in other parts of the country and may hamper the Daytona 500 in Florida Sunday with showers or thunderstorms, accuweather.com reported.

Winter weather has been hitting in some unexpected places over the last few days. According to ESPN; 2 inches of snow fell in Marana, Ariz., forcing officials to call golfers off the course during the PGA tour. School was called off in Flagstaff, Ariz., and an icy mix called graupel fell in Phoenix, according to reports from that area.

Here, NECN's meteorologist Matt Noyes predicts on his website, “There's at least a 50-50 chance that a foot or more of snow will fall in the deep interior.”

He also writes that the snow, which will be heavy and wet, could cause power outages. Much of interior New England is predicted to get more than 6 inches.

Contact Kim Ring at kring@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring.